New Development In Sunny Isles, Florida Features Armani Designs

U.S. Giorgio Armani fans will soon have an entirely new way to indulge in the fashion icon's legendary sense of style.

The Armani Group recently announced it is breaking ground on its first residential development in the United States.

The 60-story property is being built in partnership with New York/Miami-based Dezer Development and The Related Group.

Residences by Armani/Casa in Miami will be in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., just north of Bal Harbour, and will include 260 homes that reflect Armani's aesthetic sensibilities.

So if simply wearing an Armani frock is not enough, adoring fashionistas can soon buy a property Armani has painstakingly designed.

"This has been one of my best branding experience so far -- with respect to how involved Giorgio has been. He has been very involved," says Gil Dezer, of Dezer Development, most famous for the 60-story Porsche Design Tower Miami, a first-of-its-kind building featuring a one-of-a-kind automobile lift system that lets owners park vehicles in their homes. "Giorgio has reviewed all of the floor plans, all of the designs ... We didn't imagine he was going to be this involved. It's been a huge push for us that he is this involved. What's being put together is so unique it can't be created anywhere else."

Dezer and partner Carlos Rosso, of The Related Group, are just back from a long stay in Milan, Italy, where the duo worked hand in hand with Armani designing the property.

Specific details and images of the interior of the homes are not yet available, but Dezer and Rosso say they reflect Armani's style down to every last detail.

"Giorgio approved the location of kitchens, the color of faucets, the logo of the building. He personally went over everything," says Rosso, president of the condominium division for The Related Group.

Prices of homes in the building range from $1.4 million up to $6.5 million, Dezer says. Construction is expected to be complete in 2017.

And while many of the additional details about the property are being finalized, Dezer says the building will have all the amenities of a five-star hotel -- including a spa with hammam and oceanfront food service.

"We have right now over 12,000 units under development," Rosso says. "This one is by far the most impressive we have under development."

The building's architect is Argentinean-born Cesar Pelli, creator of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia and Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami.

The Miami property is a first for Armani in the United States, but it's not a first globally. Armani/Casa's existing residential portfolio includes the Macka Residences in Istanbul; The World Towers in Mumbai, India; and Century Spire, in Manila, Philippines.